LeRay Alexander, a school teacher and World War II veteran, opened the first commercial movie theater in Blanding on 23 August 1946, despite opposition and competing plans from local leaders. Dr. Wesley R. Bayles helped fund the $11,000 showhouse. Over 60 years later, the San Juan Theatre continues bring movies to the county it was named after.

The Cinemark West Valley and XD opened on 12 July 2014 as part of Highbury Centre, the largest retail development in West Valley City since Valley Fair Mall. Target, the main anchor for the development, was expected to “draw customers not only from West Valley City, but also from Magna and even Tooele because of the easy access.”[1, 2, 3]

“Our new complex in West Valley City marks our seventeenth Cinemark theatre [in Utah] and fourth Cinemark XD auditorium located in Salt Lake City,” stated Tim Warner, Cinemark’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re excited to be opening our new cutting edge NextGen theatre just in time for our guests to enjoy all of this summer’s highly anticipated movies.”[4]

The Cinemark West Valley features 10 auditoriums, each with a state-of-the-art viewing environment, including comfortable high-backed seats, wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor screens, bright 4K digital projection powered by Barco projectors, and “enhanced digital surround sound systems that will enable customers to hear the movies as the filmmakers intended.” Six auditoriums will be equipped for RealD 3D presentations.[3, 4]

The largest auditorium features Cinemark XD: Extreme Digital Cinema, Cinemark's private label for their premium large format presentation. “XD offers a complete entertainment environment featuring a large wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor screen, plush seating and a custom 11.1 digital surround sound system featuring the latest in sound technology. The digital images are delivered by a Doremi server and a Barco DLP digital projector, which offers the brightest light standards in the industry. The XD auditorium exhibits the newest movies every week, including 2D and RealD 3D pictures.”[4]

The sound system in the XD auditorium uses 60 surround speakers.[3] In 2013, Cinemark selected to deploy Barco's immersive cinema sound solution, Auro 11.1, in all of its current and planned Extreme Digital (XD) screens worldwide.[5] “Auro 11.1 adds two additional layers of sound to the existing 5.1 surround sound layer. The Auro 11.1 format incorporates a unique height and overhead channel which allow for natural lifelike sound with sound waves coming from every direction, just like they do in real life. In this way, Auro 11.1 creates the most realistic and natural immersive audio experience.”[6]

The theater's concession stand offers freshly-popped popcorn, Coca-Cola fountain beverages, favorite candy brands, and a variety of food and beverage options. A party room is available for birthdays and celebrations. Tickets can be purchased online, at kiosks in the theatre lobby, or through Cinemark's mobile applications. Customers can sign up online to receive free, weekly showtime emailers that contain online coupons for discounts at the concession stand and other weekly special offers.[4]